Bill > S3639

This bill, known as the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act or SAT Streamlining Act, aims to expedite the processing of licenses and grants for satellite and space-related telecommunications operations. It establishes new deadlines for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant or deny applications for various licenses, including those for non-geostationary and geostationary orbit space stations, earth stations, and blanket-licensed earth stations, generally within one year of receiving a completed application. The bill also sets a 15-year limit for grants of market access, which is the ability for a foreign-licensed satellite to provide services in the U.S., and outlines a process for renewals. It allows for extensions of review periods only under specific circumstances, such as extraordinary circumstances involving danger to life or property, national defense or security, or to complete processing rounds for non-geostationary space station applications, with strict limitations on the length and number of extensions. Furthermore, the bill mandates expedited treatment for minor modifications to licenses that improve transmission capacity or spectral efficiency without substantially altering the authorized station, and for replacing technically similar components of space or earth stations. It also introduces provisions for notification-only additions of authorized space stations to ground stations and allows the FCC to extend special temporary authority for certain non-broadcast operations. The bill emphasizes the importance of interagency coordination, particularly between the FCC and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, to streamline reviews. It also includes measures to prevent undue delays, such as deeming applications granted if the FCC misses deadlines, and requires the FCC to limit the information requested from applicants to what is strictly necessary. Finally, the bill addresses national security and law enforcement concerns by requiring review of applications from entities with reportable foreign ownership by a designated committee.

Transportation and Infrastructure

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3639/all-info